20 weeks! Half way there! 01-29-21 to 02-04-21

We are halfway there!!! It's so amazing!! Baby boy is officially showing and I'm finding myself reaching for my maternity clothes over my normal clothes more and more! I have also begun facing the infamous Round Ligament Pain and let me say, it's called pain for a reason! I feel great most of the time but sheesh, when this ligament got flared (undoubtedly because of his rapid growth spurt this week), it was very uncomfortable! I have found relief with warm baths, gentle heat on my right back, and tylenol when it becomes unbearable. 

29th: Busy cleaning and planning for the nursery! We are moving the current guest room down the hall to the bike room, and moving the bike room into the office and creating a bike/office man cave for Brandon. I've been successful in selling things we don't need, cleaning out old books/movies we don't want or need, and bought a really beautiful grey dresser and storage bins for Brandon's new room. He's excited to have a space all his own and I'm loving helping him put it together and decorate. 

30th: Online clinical with my new spring students and then a quick road trip to Dallas to see Grace and Travis get married!! I let the group out a bit early so I could make sure I was ready to leave Austin on time, have the house cleaned, and not be rushed. It felt great to get dolled up and wear my new navy blue maternity dress! It's so cute! It feels weird to be showing and have to wear maternity clothes now... but I am enjoying the changes and embracing my new body. The wedding was nice and although we were tired, we especially enjoyed the beauty of Royal Oaks Country Club (really beautiful spot) and the cool patio weather and time spent with our church friends. We had so many laughs and so much fun visiting while also being COVID safe and staying outdoors when possible. The show stopper was the cocktail hour appetizers! Oh my goodness!!! Crispy goat cheese rounds topped with fig spread, brisket sliders with a jalapeno breading, and mini quesadillas! The goat cheese rounds were our absolute favorite and our caterer, Hector, was a blast!! Our dinner was great and I especially enjoyed the yellow and red bell pepper soup! It was so yummy!! Brandon and I also go to take our first official baby belly picture together and it's so cute! We left about 10pm and unfortunately missed the cake cutting since the wedding was a late one but we still had a nice time. We stayed in Mckinney, had breakfast with family the day after, and then headed home to Austin. We were tired from a rushed weekend but I'm glad we made the time to go and were able to at least have a meal with family. 

2nd: Went for a run today and did much better than yesterday in terms of ligament pain! Was able to run a mile and walk 3.5. I really love my running and although it's getting a tad more challenging with baby bouncing around and putting pressure on my lower abdomen, I'm still trying my very best to be healthy and active. I love the time I get to be alone with The Lord in prayer and worship, the release of energy, and the emotion/mental healing that running gives me. 

Weight this week is 125.5 pounds, running is getting a little bit harder and more uncomfortable but still going strong and making best efforts, no real cravings but am wanting fruit and dairy a bit more than usual. Still waking up every morning about 3:00 but am usually able to fall back asleep and sleep until Brandon wakes up around 7. Overall, I feel good and am loving the pregnancy journey; I absolutely can't imaging doing this with anyone other than my best friend! 

4th: Appointment day! I love appointment day and look forward to each one of them! Since COVID is still an issue and until rates of infection lower, St. David's is restricting visitors from coming so unfortunately, Brandon can't be there today. As much as I want him there, I also don't mind becuase when I look at the whole picutre, I'm just so thankful that I have an appointment to go to at all! We've been very fortunate that he's been able to go to all of them until now and are confident this is only a temporary solution. Appointment went well! Baby Chandler was very misbehaving and moved the whole time during his Anatomy scan! It was fun though and the US tech was very patient with us. It was so amazing to see all his growth and development! I got to see his tiny structures, his heart beating, his long bones developing, all 10 fingers and 10 toes, ears, spine, and everything else. The images are so advanced that we can just about make out some of his facial features! I shared our good visit with Brandon who was also amazed to see the pictures of how big baby has gotten in such a short amount of time. I weighed 128lbs fully clothed today and with a full bladder, which Dr. Capet is happy with.